Jason Crawford

Founder, Roots of Progress

Jason Crawford is the founder of The Roots of Progress, where he writes and speaks about the history of technology and the philosophy of progress. He is also the creator of Progress Studies for Young Scholars, an online learning program for high schoolers; and a part-time adviser and technical consultant to Our World in Data, an Oxford-based non-profit for research and data on global development.

Previously, he spent 18 years as a software engineer, engineering manager, and startup founder. From 2013–2018, he was co-founder & CEO of Fieldbook, a hybrid spreadsheet-database. He has also been an engineering manager at Flexport, Amazon, and Groupon, and a co-founder or early employee at other startups. Before that, he was a research engineer at D. E. Shaw Research, working on a new supercomputing architecture for computational biochemistry.

He has a B.S. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University.

Everything Articles

Collage featuring scientific diagrams, two black-and-white portraits of men, wheat plants, and "Solutionism" text in the center.

Blind optimism is not a cure for blind pessimism

We need to fully acknowledge problems, while vigorously pursuing solutions. Call it “solutionism.”

A collage featuring hands holding a plant, additional hands in sepia tone, a grid background, orange accents, and the text "Reclaim Meaning" with the number 4.

How to reclaim meaning in a changing world

What if the barrier to a fulfilled life isn’t technology but culture?

Abstract design with human profiles, a silhouette of a person walking, and text reading "The Happiness Paradox 4" on a grid background.

Why happiness is not the best indicator of well-being

Achieving values and pursuing growth is the real secret to a fulfilled life.

Image with a split view: the left half shows a black-and-white image of Earth, the right half depicts a grayscale crowd scene. Text overlay: "More Humans Are Better," with the number "3" in the top right corner.

The overlooked virtues of a crowded world

In a world of rising cynicism, a celebration of our capacity to create, adapt, and thrive.

Illustration depicting "Humanity vs. Nature" with diagrams of evolution, ecocentrism, biocentrism, and anthropocentrism, featuring images of a tree, human evolution, and a whale.

Why harmony with nature is a myth

Slowing growth and limiting development isn’t living in harmony with nature—it is surrendering in a battle.

A collage featuring ancient Egyptian art, handprints, geometric sketches, and prehistoric tools, alongside the text "Human Agency" and the number "2" in the top right corner on an orange and white grid background.

How humanity transformed its fate

From surviving on wild plants and game to controlling our world with technology, humanity's journey of progress is a story of expanding human agency.

A collage featuring the text "Forgotten Hardships," images of a struggling family, a graph, a historical farming scene, hands with a skin condition, and an illustration of a caliper.

Life was dirty, difficult, and dangerous for almost everyone who ever existed

9 minutes of cruel history may cure the anti-progress delusion.

Learn from the world's biggest thinkers.

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